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When I was inquiring about play in the front end of my '39 Six, quite a while back, I think it was Howard who posted the attached pic for me to see the location of a problem spot in the front end. I ordered the pin and bushing from Kanters and want to swap the old pieces out while I have the engine removed and have easy access. I undid the castellated nut on top and removed the old pin but the bushing seems quite tight and doesn't want to move. Not wanting to get rambunctious and screw something up, thought I'd ask and see if there is a trick to removing it. Does the center link have to be separated from the main steering linkage?? Or can one pry it sideways with a big screwdriver and get it to move enough to clear the frame opening, enabling me to insert the new bushing?? Thinking dozens of owners must have had to deal with this, am hoping for some tutelage from the pros... Thanks in advance. Chris

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Chris,

Replaced the pin on my '41 120 Club Coupe about ten years ago. Going back, finding and reading the posts in the Project Blog I kept at the time, seems I too had trouble removing the pin. Didn't remember after all that time, thankfully the Blog was a good repository to retain the story. See this post. Trust it helps.

Thanks Mal, for the reply & info. I read your blog carefully and if I am understanding it correctly, the bolt (with the grease nipple in the bottom) was seized in the bushing and that is what you had trouble removing. In my case, the bolt came out by hand but the bushing is stuck. When I look at the new one, it looks to be made of a bronze or copper alloy and I would think it should come out fairly easily. Any ideas? Anyone??

On my '39 Six, I had to drill the head of the Bolt off, be very glad you don't have that problem. I suggest pulling the arm off the car and putting in a Hydraulic press, the bushing should come right out, maybe a good presoaking with PB Blaster will also help.

Maybe it's D?j? vu all over again?

This just came up a Project Blog over on the PAC Website. See this post.

Hey, thanks Mal!! One positive, to this point is, the top hole on my frame does not seem to be worn oval, as was the one in the blog thread you pointed me towards. And, as previously stated, the bolt came out quite easily. I suppose if I pry the bushing out and do happen to damage it, I'll be replacing it with a new one and if it is 'stooopid-tight', I can machine the replacement ever-so-slightly to get a nice, tolerance fit. I'll report my progress as I go. I'm in the mountains in British Columbia Canada Mal, and it is both very cold and we've gotten a lot of fresh snow of late, so I won't be 'crawling around on the concrete' for a couple of weeks at least!!LOL Appreciate your help. Chris

John, yes I have soaked everything down with penetrating fluid, hopefully this will help in the removal sequence. Thanks.

I found this picture of my steering link, it mostly just brings back painful memories but maybe it will help you in some way.

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Just an update, I did get my steering link apart and was able to tap the bushing out. I removed the two castellated nuts on the tie rods but left the steering arm attached as it pivoted enough to allow the center link to move back far enough to 'bare' the bushing. At that point I gently tapped out the bushing without even damaging or distorting it. Now just to reverse the process for the new pin and bushing install and I am 'back to spec'. Thanks for the help, advice and input on this! Chris

I KNEW things were going too smoothly!! LOL I went to reassemble the center-link assembly today and could not get the new bushing into the arm opening. I then tried the new pin into the old bushing and it seemed 'pretty good', so I assembled the whole thing that way, but when done, I was able to grab the center-link arm and move it up and down about an 1/8 of an inch, which is less than optimal. So, what to do? I am presuming the arm and the bushing must go to a machine shop to be reamed??? Anybody run into this before?? Anything obvious I am missing?? One thing to note is the holes in the frame do not appear oblong and the movement is definitely the bushing play on the pin. The pin itself is NOT moving. Is an 1/8 of an inch acceptable??